The Detectives Secret
by Poppy Holme's tales
Summary: "ARIELLA! Ariella! hold on, don't go it will be alright" he rocked Ariella in his arms "Why did you do that?" he asked
1. 1

John was sat in his chair reading the newspaper and drinking a cup of tea and Sherlock was sat opposite him thinking. The pair had, had no case recently and Sherlock was getting bored. John would try and cheer him up but it would never work. John looked up from the article he was reading and looked at his friend. Sherlock had his hands pressed together and tucked under his chin "Sherlock" John said but he got no reply "Sherlock" he said again still nothing, not even a twitch of his eye. "SHERLOCK" yelled John, this time Sherlock's eyes opened but his hands didn't move "What?" he moaned  
"Have you found a new case yet?" Sherlock looked sarcastically at John, but shook his head. "Are you going to look for a new case?" there was a pause and then Sherlock jumped up and ran towards the window of the flat he shared with John. Smiled then ran ad sat sat down in his chair again, his feet where tucked underneath him and his hands pressed together again. John looked at him with confusion and was just about to ask what he was doing when Lestrade ran up the stairs and into the flat.

John looked up and at the inspector "What can we do for you inspector?" asked John and Lestrade looked and Sherlock completely ignoring John. "Sherlock, you know why I'm here" there was no movement from Sherlock.  
"Just keep talking, if he dosn't listen, I tell him again later" Lestrade nodded  
"Sherlock listen to me, you know why I'm here, its her, she opened her eyes. You can come and see her if you want" said Lestrade, John looked up confusedly at the inspector "What are you on about?" he asked but Lestrade ignored him and continued to look at Sherlock.

Sherlock opened one eye "She won't want to see me"  
"Who is **She**?" asked John crossly  
"Inspector, John can go in my place" said Sherlock and he closed his eyes again. John quickly stood up and the inspector walked out of the room, John hurried after him and out of the flat onto the street.

When John reached the street and stopped to look up at the window and saw nothing, "Are you coming or not?" called the inspector from the police car. John turned and got into the car, if he had stayed a second longer then he would have seen Sherlock Holmes stood in the window watching him and for the first time in 5 years a tear trickled down his cheek.


	2. 2

"So what is going on?" John asked the inspector who looked at him and frowned  
"Don't you know?" John shook his head  
"Sherlock never talks about women, I asked once but he said he was married to his work"  
Lestrade nodded "that sound like Sherlock, I'm surprised he didn't tell you about her though..." he's voice trailed off and John looked at him expectantly  
"Who is **she** that you keep talking about?" the inspector looked at John and raised his eyebrows but said nothing. John huffed and slumped back against his chair and the journey continued in silence.

* * *

They soon arrived outside a hospital and John and Lestrade got out of the car and headed inside. They walked into reception, Lestrade walked to the desk and spoke to a nurse with kind eyes and blond hair. She nodded as John watched and walked out from behind the desk and walked off down the corridor, Lestrade followed and indicated for John to follow him.  
They followed the nurse down corridors and hallways past rooms full of patients and ill people. After seeing room after room they reached a door that resembled a broom cupboard, the nurse reached into her pocket and pulled out a slim key and put it into the lock. It fit in easily and she opened the door quietly. The three walked in and the nurse shut the door behind them, the room was not a cupboard as John had expected it was simply a door into another corridor. This corridor however was different to the other ones they had been through this one was pure white and spotless. It was also totally empty, not a person was in the corridor. The nurse smiled at John and walked towards another door, the only other door in the corridor.

"You can go in now" said the nurse and the two men walked in.

They where now stood in a room that was white as well. In the center of the room was a bed and the only color in the room was a splash of chocolate brown. John walked over to the bed and looked, the brown was hair, and the hair was attached to a beautiful girl. She had pale, pale skin and her eyes where closed letting her long dark lashes rest on her cheek. John's breath caught in his throat and he looked back from the girl to Lestrade "Who is she?" he asked.

Lestrade chuckled "your to late, hands off" John looked confused "She's engaged" John nodded in understanding but his brow furrowed suddenly  
"But what had she got to do with Sherlock?"


	3. 3

Lestrade walked out of the room and left John alone with the girl. He looked down at her, she was lying underneath the sheets but her hands where placed softly on top, across her middle, they rose and fell in time with her steady breathing. She was tall and thin and her arms where just as pale as her face and just as flawless. She was dressed in a white cotton dress and her shoulder where exposed. Just then John's eyes caught sight of something on the girls shoulder, a small imperfection, a tiny red mark. John lead in closer and recognized what it was immediately, a bullet wound.

At that moment Lestrade walked back into the room with two white wicker chairs and set them down at the end of the bed facing the girl. "So I guess you want to know everything" said Lestrade after they had sat down and John nodded. "Well, Her name is Ariella Stevens and she is engaged. She tried to protect her fiancee and took two bullets for him..."  
"Yeah I spotted the wound on her shoulder" John said and Lestrade nodded  
"mmm, the other one is on her waist. After the bullets hit she was taken here and treated. She recovered from the wounds perfectly fine but he was left in a coma for a month but she woke up for a week, and her fiancee came and saw her, that night she went to sleep and hasn't woken up since. She is perfectly fine and could wake up anytime she wanted but she won't, its a medical mystery no one knows why she won't wake up."

"How come she is in here?" asked John looking back at Ariella.  
"Her fiancee's brother payed for it all"  
"Can I ask who the fiancee is?" Lestrade nodded and said

"Sherlock Holmes"


	4. 4 (flashback)

_A man in a white shirt and black trousers was sat on a small sofa with a sheet of paper in front of him. He frowned and mumbled something undetectable. The man sat back and sighed, he ruffled his dark hair. The door into the room opened and in walked at tall, thin girl. She had long brown hair that fell in neat waved down her back and to her waist. She had pale skin and her green eyes stood out against it She was wearing a basic outfit and make up. She walked into the room and slid the boots off her feet, she sat on the sofa next to the man and let her legs stretch across his lap making him drop the paper in his hand "Are you alright?" she asked  
"Mmm, just stuck on this case" replied them man sitting back  
"Can I help at all?" she asked her voice smooth and calming. The man shook his head and sighed again.  
"No, not really, but you can come with me to Barts if you want"  
"Sure, why are we going?" she asked  
"I need some more stuff to experiment on, I also need to analyze this" he held up a scrap of cloth. The girl nodded and stood up pulling her boots back on and the man got up and put on a long coat and a blue scarf. He pocketed the cloth and watched as the girl tied up her hair in a lose pony tail and pulled on a jacket. She slung a bag over her shoulder and the two headed out of the door and onto the street._

The two had been walking down the street in silence, the woman slipped her hand into the man's hand and they continued to walk. Suddenly there was a scuffling behind them and the man turned to look at what was going on. Two men bust through the crowd holding guns and aimed them at the man, some one in the crowd screamed and both the men fired their guns at the man. Before anyone could think the girl threw her self in front of the man and took both the bullets. The two men with the guns ran off back into the crowd and everyone began running around and screaming. The dark haired man fell to the ground and held the girl in his arms "ARIELLA! Ariella! hold on, don't go it will be alright" he rocked Ariella in his arms "Why did you do that?" he asked  
"Because I love you" she stroked his cheek and whipped away a tear that fell down his cheek "Because I love you, and always will Sherlock Holmes"


	5. 5

There was a sudden gasp from the bed and the two men immediately jumped up and looked at Ariella. Her back was arching off the bed and she was whimpering, her breathing had become fast and unsteady, but in the same short amount of time that it had take for the sudden change in her appearance to come on it left. She settled back into the sheets, rested her hands on her chest once more and her breathing was steady and constant again. "What on earth was that?" John asked panicked  
"I don't know, I've never seen her do that before" the men sat down in their chairs and neither one took their eyes off the sleeping girl.  
"So, has Sherlock ever been to visit her?"  
"Yes, he thinks that we don't know about his visits but we do" Lestrade pointed up at the top corner of the room "hidden cameras" he explained "Sherlock come through that open window there and sits on the end of the bed, talks to her for a few hours then leaves"  
"I wonder how I havn't noticed him leaving in the night before" mused John and he stood up and walked round to sit next to the girl "She's very beautiful" he said as he brushed a strand of hair away from her face  
"She is but don't tell Sherlock that, when she was first put in here a reporter came in and said exactly what you said. He was out cold for an hour and his nose was broken" John gulped and looked at Lestrade  
"So now what" he asked  
"I don't know, she's never been this active before so its hard to say, maybe we should go and ask Sherlock"

Lestrade stood up and picked up the two chairs at the end of the bed and took them out of the room. The moment the doors swung shut behind him Ariella shot up into sitting position and grabbed hold of John's collar. Her eyes remained closed as she whispered a few words into his ear then fell back in the sleeping position she had grown accustomed to. John couldn't move from the spot where he was sat.

Lestrade walked back into the room pulling on his coat as he walked, he stopped when he saw John "Hey, what happened?" he asked.  
The doctor turned to face him slowly and whispered something that the inspector couldn't hear "What was that?"

"We need to see Sherlock" the doctor whispered again


	6. 6

The two men had driven as quickly as the traffic had allowed them to reach Baker street. John ran up the stairs to the flat where he hoped his best friend would still be sat. As John burst through the door he saw Sherlock Holmes stood by his desk playing his violin, before John could say a word Sherlock spoke "Ariella gave me this violin you know" John looked bewildered at the statement but walked up to his friend and placed his hands on Sherlock's shoulders "Sit" he commanded

Sherlock did as he was told with some reluctance and confusion, John took the chair opposite him and Lestrade stood in the door way. "Sherlock" John said looking his friend in the eye  
"You have questions I know but..."  
John interrupted him "I can ask them later but Ariella she... she spoke to me" Sherlock sat up from his slumped position in the chair to listen to what the doctor had to say  
"What did she say, she has't spoken in what feels like forever"  
"She told me to give you a message... well two messages actually... one from her and another from a friend of ours, he goes by the name Moriarty"

Anger spread through Sherlock like a fire and his hands clenched into a fist and he began to shake "What did she say?" he growled through clenched teeth.  
"She said the message from her was..." John coughed and Sherlock growled again "She still loves you and, get him" a deep growl escaped Sherlock's lips  
"What was the message from him?" he spat  
"I was here, stop me, help her" John said and Sherlock let out another growl. "Sherlock?"  
"mmmm..."  
"Can I ask you the questions now?"  
"mmmm..."  
"Why didn't you tell me about her before, you said you wheren't in any relationship"  
"I said I had no girl friend, you assumed that, that meant I had a boy friend, you never asked if I had someone more that a girlfriend"  
"Okay, so, why didn't you tell me"  
"I don't know"  
"Okay, what are we going to do now"  
"I don't know" and for once, the doctor believed that Sherlock Holmes had no idea what was going to happen or what to do.


	7. 7

Sherlock spent a week sat in the same position thinking, John was really begining to get worried about him. Sherlock hadn't eaten or drunk for who knows how long and John couldn't make him eat. John sighed for what felt like the millionth time and pushed the switch to turn on the kettle and leaned against the work top facing his friend. Sherlock was sat in the same position, feet curled up underneath him and hands pressed together under his chin. The kettle squealed indicating that it had boiled and John poured the hot water in to his mug with some milk and a tea bag, just the way he liked it. He stirred it for a second, removed the bag, and went to sit opposite Sherlock. It had been a week now and John was getting worried he needed Sherlock to do... something.

"Sherlock" said the doctor in a commanding voice the detective reluctantly opened one eye  
"What?"  
"Sherlock, its been a week now, surely you have come up with a plan" John watched as the detective opened the other eye, stared at him for a moment then jumped up and ran into another room. John raised an eyebrow but said nothing, he had come to trust Sherlock and his quirky ways and sudden movements. He settled into his chair and waited knowing better than to disturb his friend.

Moments later Sherlock burst through the room holding something in his hands and ran into the bathroom. John listened and he heard the shower turn on and he nodded to himself. The doctor reached for the newspaper on the table in front of him and took a sip of his tea.

* * *

After about half an hour Sherlock re-appeared dressed, showered and with slightly damp hair "John I was thinking" John put down the paper and looked up at Sherlock  
"What about?"  
"Ariella"  
"Oh, you've come up with a plan, of course it leads to Moriarty"  
"Quite so, I remember when she was...er... attacked and ended up where she is now, at the hospital they took the two bullets out, I studied them for weeks but I have never seen the brand before, perhaps you know it" Sherlock sat down at the kitchen table and John stood up from his chair and stood beside his friend  
"Why did you keep them?" Sherlock looked up at his friend with a sarcastic expression on his face and in his eyes and John shrugged.  
"Can you recognize them?" Sherlock asked and John sat down next to his friend. He picked up one of the bullets and looked hard at it, all of a sudden his brow furrowed "Hand me that microscope" he said and Sherlock handed it to him without a word. John placed the bullet under the lense and looked at it for a second before huffing and leaning away.

Sherlock still said nothing and John looked at him, "I know what bullet that is" he stated and Sherlock looked eagerly at him "Its a bullet that only the highest ranking officers in the army can have" Sherlock looked hard and the bullet  
"How come I didn't spot that" he mumbled to himself but John herd what he said  
"I'm not surprised that you didn't see it, only a very select few have seen these bullets and even less have access to them" John told Sherlock.  
"Well then, that should make it easier to track the gun men down shouldn't it" Sherlock jumped up swiping the bullets into his pocket and pulling on his long coat.  
"Where are you going?" asked John  
"WE, are going to pay a visit to Lestrade"  
"Why we?"  
"You care for Ariella just as much as I do, I can see it in your eyes"


	8. 8 (flashback)

_It was clearly winter, the snow on the ground told Sherlock that. He was sat on a bench that was slightly damp and he shivered in the cold air. He looked up from the spot he was sat and saw a girl with long brown hair dancing in the snow that had just stared to fall from the sky. He smiled and stood up walking towards her he saw she was smiling brightly and dressed in think layers of clothing, she loved snow but had always hated the coldness of it. She stopped dancing and smiled brighter when she saw him walking towards her "Hey" she said, her voice as smooth as silk  
"Hello, beautiful" Sherlock said and put his hands around her waist. "You do look stunning" Sherlock said and brushed a strand of hair out of her face, she smiled and blushed looking at the floor. Sherlock put a thin finger underneath her chin and forced her to look him in the eye.  
"You are" he said again and kissed her passionately, she kissed back hard.  
"I love you Sherlock Holmes"  
"I love you too Ariella Stevens"_

They kissed again and as they did Ariella tickled him. "Oh is that how we're going to play?" Sherlock said and tickled her back she wriggled free of Sherlock's grip and ran off through the snow laughing loudly. Sherlock chased after her. She spun round quickly and her hair flew out behind her, she let out a laughed and Sherlock smiled.

Sherlock came to a halt at the end of the path and she kept on running. Suddenly a squealed came from around the corner and Sherlock bottled towards the noise "Ariella!" he called out panicked "Ariella!"

As Sherlock rounded the corner he saw Ariella sat in a heap on the floor giggling. "What happened?" asked Sherlock concerned  
Ariella let out another giggle "I slipped, on the ice patch" she pointed at a large patch of ice, and giggled again.  
Sherlock ran forwards and slipped on the same patch of ice and landed next to Ariella, and she let out another loud laugh. 


End file.
